Taormina, 26.05.17: The venue for this year's two-day summit of the seven leading industrial nations is in the east of Sicily.

For four G7 leaders, this was the first G7 summit.

Including Italy, this year's host. Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni welcomed participants in front of landmark 3rd century Greek theatre.

The Group of Seven (G7) represents about ten per cent of the world's population and about one third of global economic output.

Firstly, the heads of state and government discussed foreign and security policy issues.

Later in the day the global economy and options for sustainable and inclusive growth were on the agenda.

Germany advocates free trade and open markets. Chancellor Angela Merkel has unequivocally rejected protectionism.

The heads of state and government intend to resolutely fight terrorism. A statement to this end was adopted on the first day of the summit meeting.

Within the framework of the summit, the Chancellor also had a bilateral meeting with American President Donald Trump.

In the evening, the heads of state and government were invited to attend a concert in the amphitheatre with their partners.

The amphitheatre provided an impressive backdrop for a concert given by Milan's Scala Philharmonic Orchestra.

The "outreach partners", representatives of international organisations and some African states, also attended.

They were invited to join the discussions on Saturday.

Taormina, 27.05.17: Consultations continued.

One item on the agenda of the meeting with outreach partners was the 2030 Agenda adopted jointly with the United Nations.

Other items on the agenda of the second day included displacement and migration, gender equality and relations between the G7 and other states.